Daily Slideshow: Photographer Larry Chen's Porsche 996 Turbo

Larry Chen is a world-renowned automotive photographer, senior editor at Speedhunters, shoots for Hoonigan and Hot Rod Magazine and is an official photographer for Formula Drift, Pikes Peak and GRC, among others.
He also owns a Porsche 996 Turbo that he's been upgrading through the years. To be honest, the list of modifications runs a bit long, so here are some of the more noteworthy highlights.

By Jeffrey Bausch - February 9, 2018

1. HRE 305M Monobloks

Larry has always had a love for all these automotive but it was one day back in high school when he and his friends went to the Los Angeles Auto Show and a certain Porsche caught his eye. The centerpiece of the Stuggart's automaker's floor space was the then-new 996 Turbo, It was love at first sight. Once he was older and had the means to acquire one, the search began. He found a 2003 on Craigslist with the X50 upgraded performance package. The ad had been posted at 6:45 am and Larry spotted it at 7:00 am. By 10:00 am he was a Porsche owner.

2. KW Suspension hydraulic lift system

"The seller met me at BBI Autosport in Huntington Beach, where I had arranged to have it inspected. The guys at BBI are my friends – I’ve followed them on many of their adventures, and I trust their judgment. After inspecting the car they told me to buy it, so a deal was made on the spot."

One of the first things Chen did was get rid of the car's stock 996 wheels and replace them with forged billet 305M Classic Forged Monoblok Series wheels which, even at a passing glance, you can tell fit the car perfectly."Having pictured my ultimate 996 in my mind for a long time, the first thing that had to go were the hideous wheels…"

As for the tires, Chen elected to go with Yokohama Advan Neovas. He used to run with A048 semi slicks on both the street and track with his old car and loved them so much that he figured it would be good to get Advans for his first-ever Porsche.

3. Improved the form . . .

Next, Chen added KW Suspension hydraulic lift system to allow him to raise the height of the car by 85mm in a few seconds; useful to clear obstacles and bumps while driving. Worth noting is that this system also includes KW Clubsport coilovers, known to give cars a smooth ride, elegant look and remain functional for daily driving. After that came a bevy of updates to improve the car's performance, including new motor mounts, rebuilt brakes and Brembo pads and rotors.

4. . . . as well as its function

As for power, Chen says he’s going to hold off on any major updates since the car is has the x50 package (from Wikipedia: The x50 package is a $17,000 factory option, which boosts the engine output to 450 PS (331 kW) with 620 N·m (457 lb·ftf) of torque across a wide section of the power band. With the X50 package in place the car could make 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 3.8 seconds.)

While he might be content with the x50 feature, Chen has suggested that he plans to add a few new things, including a BBI exhaust and an IPD intake plenum. The transmission needed a rebuild, and both the hydraulic clutch accumulator and the driver’s side front wheel speed sensor needed replacing.

Let’s keep in mind that the car is 12 years old – it had some wear on it. So, to bring it back to its optimal level of performance, Chen did a full transmission rebuild and he had to replace both the car’s hydraulic clutch accumulator as well as the driver’s side front wheel speed sensor. This, in addition to various coolant hoses and fittings updates too.

5. Two not-so-obvious updates

One of the things that most people won't notice is a Ctek battery conditioner, which keeps the car charged when not in use. Another thing Chen did was remove the center console to give him more room for his knee.

Chen admitted that he was torn between the 997 and 996 Turbo. While the 997 is a great car as-is, it doesn’t offer much wiggle room when it comes to modifications. The 996 served Chen better because he was able to look at it like a blank canvas. Plus, with the money he saved purchasing this particular model, he was able to customize the vehicle exactly to his liking.

6. When Dreams become Reality

"Car culture is a way of life, and that’s exactly what Speedhunters is about. So while other people spend their pennies on luxury items like big screen TVs and fancy watches, I would much rather spend my hard-earned money on my passion for all things on four wheels...do I really need to justify buying a 911 Turbo? I think not."